Soul Mates: Scent (The Soul Mates Series) (21 page)

I was so intrigued with the feeling and Gaia that I didn’t notice the panicked look on Daire’s face as he called out to me.

“Max! Max, don’t shift. Don’t climb into the tree. At least… not right now. We are about to have company…”

“What?” I asked pulling away from Gaia and the tree’s energy with regret.

“Unseelie are coming.” Daire pointed in the sky.

I could see a black mass headed toward us, marring the perfect purple and pink sky of Never Never. I pulled my cross blades and took a defensive stance as we waited. As they grew closer I could make out five nightmarish shapes with indescribable features. The first two to land had wings similar to a bat, but on a much larger scale, added to that were tentacles armed with swords, mouths filled with teeth that could shred a body in seconds and blood red eyes that seemed to sap the energy right out of your soul.

Daire and I moved in and with blades flying took out the first two before the other three hit the ground. Black blood splattered our clothing as I took the head off the third Unseelie. I watched as Daire raised his sword and split the fourth in half. Together we pushed toward the fifth Unseelie, who was slowly backing away from us. It was then that I realized that the fifth Unseelie was not armed. If fact, the fifth Unseelie didn’t seem to be a warrior at all, or even male. I got the distinct impression that the fifth Unseelie was female and we had just slaughtered her guard.

I put a hand on Daire’s arm, put away my blades and pulled out Veritas. I slowly approached the female creature, her marbled green skin gleamed in the sunlight of Never Never. She had thick, long blue hair and fierce red eyes, but she didn’t seem to put off the same energy that the warriors had. She was humanoid in her features, as if somewhere in her family tree a nightmare had bred with a human or Fae. She continued to back away from us, her deformed hands out in front of her as if warding us off.

I nodded to Daire to grab her and I held the tip of Veritas just under what looked like her chin. “Speak the truth.”

“I come for the babe,” she whispered.

My eyes narrowed. “What babe? There are no babe’s here.”

“I hear the door. I am the maiden. I care for the babes that your people discard,” she spat at us.

I glanced at Daire and frowned. “She heard us come through the door. Is this the door they use when an Unseelie child is born?”

“I have no idea. I suppose it has been used before. It has been a long time since any children of any kind have been born, I did not consider it a possibility.”

“That is true. Why would you be looking for a child at this door now? It has been over seventy years since a child has been brought to this door.” I asked the Unseelie female.

“You are wrong. There have not been any Seelie children born in seventy years. Many Unseelie children have been born. My guard and I had just passed by this door when I heard it open. I made them turn back. You killed them. You must be very good warriors, for my guard were highly skilled. Are you going to kill me?”

I glanced at Daire and shook my head. “No. We do not kill unarmed female maidens.”

“Do not make the mistake of thinking I am not deadly, my young Seelie warrior. In the right setting, I am lethal,” she said with a feral smile.

“I will not make that mistake. You are free to go.”

She nodded. “For the record, my name is Póg Tocsaineach, for a real one from me, and you die. I’ll be seeing you around young warriors.” She blew us a kiss and took off into the sky.

“What did she mean?” I asked as I watched her dark blue wings carry her away from us.

“Her name is Póg Tocsaineach. Toxic Kiss. Not someone you want to meet up with and get close to. No wonder she’s the maiden. No man would want her. She’d kill him, Unseelie or not.”

“Ah, right. I think I’ve seen enough of Never Never for now.”

“Hey you did good back there, Gideon will be proud.”

I opened the door between Never Never and the Faerie Mound and was surprised to find Auberon, Tatiana and Anna waiting for us on the other side.

“Where have you been? You have been gone for almost two weeks!” Auberon boomed as we came through the door.

Anna rushed into my arms and I held her close. “What do you mean we have been gone for two weeks? We have only been in Never Never for maybe two hours.”

“Max, time is different in Never Never. We changed the time here in the Faerie Mound, but not in Never Never. While it was two hours for you, it was nearly two weeks for us, and Anna could not reach you mentally. We feared the worst.”

I looked down at Anna and could see tears glistening in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Anna, sweetheart. So what does that mean? Where are we on time?”

“You have to leave tomorrow. Your time is up. Gideon is very unhappy. Daire what were you thinking taking him into Never Never?”

Daire frowned. “I apologize Auberon, I did not realize…”

“You’ll be apologizing to Gideon is what you’ll be doing!”

“Yes, Sire.”

“Why couldn’t I connect with you?” Anna asked.

“We ran into some trouble in Never Never, a group of Unseelie. I believe I have successfully learned how to shield my thoughts from you. I didn’t want you to worry about what was going on, so I built a shield around my thoughts and actions.”

Anna smacked my arm. “Don’t ever do that to me again, mon coeur! You could have been killed and then I would have never known!”

I pulled her close again and kissed her tear streaked face. “I’m fine. Not a scratch on me.”

“Unseelie were here, near our Faerie Mound door?” Auberon asked, sounding as if he were ready to go into high alert.

“Auberon, it was nothing we could not handle. In fact, it was our fault. It was the Unseelie maiden and her guard looking for second born children,” I said to calm him. “They heard the door and came to investigate. Daire and I took out the guard and let the maiden go.”

“I’m impressed. Póg Tocsaineach is known to have a very skilled set of warriors at her beck and call. If you have defeated them, perhaps you are ready to take on this lion when he arrives.”

“You know Póg Tocsaineach?”

“Yes, she is the daughter of the Queen of Air and Darkness, and your cousin of sorts. Do not trust her. Does she know who you are?”

“I don’t think so; I didn’t give her my name.”

“Be careful Max, the lion will not be the only one gunning for you now. Póg Tocsaineach is known for holding a grudge. She will track you down and pay you back for killing her guard.”

I nodded. “I will watch for her.”

“Be sure that you do, for she has the ability to appear human, more so than any other Unseelie we have ever encountered.”

“Your Sióga Feiceann should be able to help you. He will be able to see through her glamour. Stay close to him in your mortal realm.”

“Oh yes, your friend, the Sióga Feiceann, should prove very useful. I suppose it is good that we didn’t kill him.”

I glanced at Auberon wondering if that had even been a possibility. “Excuse me?”

“Not that I even for a moment considered it an option when you mentioned him, Max. No indeed.”

I nodded. “So how much of today is left?”

“It’s nearly time for supper. Gideon will be joining us, I’ve already sent word. You can both apologize then.”

I walked with Anna down the hall toward our chamber, my thoughts completely open to her; I let her see what Never Never had looked like to me before the battle. I shared the energy I felt from Gaia, the Earth goddess, with her. I let it flow through me and into her.

Max,
mon
amour,
it
is
beautiful.
One
day
I
hope
that
I
can
see
the
Never
Never
with
you.
Anna stroked my face and melted into me as I closed the door to our chamber behind us.
I
missed
you
so
much
Max,
you
have
no
idea.
I
thought
you
were
lost
to
me.
Auberon
would
not
allow
me
to
go
after
you,
he
was
afraid
it
would
mess
up
the
time
shift
even
more.
If
you
had
not
come
out
when
you
did
…
mon
amour
I
do
not
think
I
would
have
survived
another
day
without
you.

I gently stroked her hair and kissed her softly along her jaw. I felt her need to be closer and I pressed my lips to hers, swallowing her sigh. I pulled her as close as I could, stroking her back. I lifted her up and settled her legs around my waist as I deepened the kiss. I could feel both of our hearts beating quickly and it took all of my will power to pull away from her enough to slow us down. “Anna,” I whispered. “I love you. You don’t have to worry, I’m fine. I will be fine. Frederick is not going to take me out and neither is Póg Tocsaineach. I’m not going to disappear on you, love.”

“I know, I am just… afraid. When I could not reach you… when I could not hear you… hear your thoughts… I assumed the worst. I… I don’t ever want to feel that way again. It broke my heart to think of you dead somewhere with me unable to get to you. Please don’t sever our connection that severely again.”

I kissed her again, filling my mind with all of the emotions I felt for her, all of the passion and love and even fear for her safety should anything happen to me. I wanted her to know I knew exactly how she felt. She was my world. I would fight for her; protect her with every breath in my body. “I can’t promise not to shield you from some of the harsher things Anna. I have a feeling that what’s coming is going to get much worse than what I faced today. Not Frederick, but the Unseelie. I am Jaguar, but I am also Seelie Fae. With that comes some responsibility. I will keep my human friends and shifter friends safe from Póg Tocsaineach, should she come searching for me. And if I can block some of the nightmares from you, I will do it.”

Anna laid her head on my shoulder and sighed. “I know. I just, need to know that you are all right.”

“I’ll work on it,” I said as I set her on the bed. “Now I suppose we should get dressed for our last dinner with Auberon and Tatiana.”

Anna nodded. “Tatiana asked for formal wear. She insisted our last evening be something to remember, I think she was counting on you showing back up in time for it.”

“What would you like to wear?” I asked with a smile as I watched Anna’s face. In my mind I caught an image of her as she saw herself in the dress she wanted to wear. I pictured it as I had seen it. A tight across the chest, strapless royal blue gauzy silk that faded into a softer turquoise as it free flowed down to her knees in the front but continued on to the floor in the back, as if it had a train. It was covered in tiny diamonds that sparkled when the light hit it. “Hair up, or down?”

Anna smiled. “Up please.”

I waved my hand and her hair twisted itself up into a French twist, held together with diamond clips. For myself I chose a matching royal blue silk suit and left my long Fae hair unbound. A crown of ivy and mistletoe still adorn my head and I wondered if I would always have it while in my Fae form.

“You look amazing.”

“Merci,” Anna said with a sexy smile. “Shall we?”

I nodded and opened the door. “After you, my princess.”

Taking Anna’s arm we walked together to the banquet room. As we entered I noticed that the room had increased in size and was filled to capacity with every Seelie noble family. As we entered they all rose from their places and applauded.

“What… Anna, what is this?”

“It’s our engagement party. Tatiana wanted to surprise you.”

We moved forward, shook hands with and were congratulated by nearly everyone we passed. We made our way slowly toward Auberon and Tatiana. “Well I’m certainly surprised.”

“Max, Anna, welcome. We all want to wish you happy on such a joyous occasion. Tatiana could not resist throwing a little engagement party for you.”

“Thank you Tatiana, Auberon. It means a lot to us that we have your blessings.”

Tatiana smiled. “Well, I am just glad you made it back in time for your party Max. You had Anna worried sick you know. But I had faith that Gaia would see you back in time.”

I smiled. “Yes, I did meet up with Gaia in Never Never. It was an experience I will never forget.”

“I’m quite sure you won’t. Now that you have met Gaia, I have a feeling she will make herself known to you more often, even out of the Never Never.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Shall we begin?”

“Begin what?” I asked.

“The party of course. We have entertainment, and gifts from all of the nobles and dinner and dancing.”

“Of course,” I replied as Tatiana clapped her hands and Anna and I took our seats to the left of Auberon.

A curtain opened across the room revealing a stage and my favorite band, U2. My jaw dropped as they began to play and I turned to look at Anna with Awe.
How?

Tatiana is quite powerful. She arranged it. I only had to tell her who to get, she did the rest.

This is amazing! Bono is singing at my engagement party! No one is ever going to believe this. Of course I can’t ever tell anyone that I had an engagement party in the Faerie Mound in the first place, but still. Bono!